Manchester United have issued a rare update on Matthijs de Ligt's current situation, a month after Michael Carrick said he had no idea when the Dutchman would be fit to play again.
It has been 145 days since De Ligt's last appearance for United.
While featuring in their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on the afternoon of November 30, he appeared to suffer a lower back injury, something then-head coach Ruben Amorim was far from worried about.
In fact, Amorim downplayed a "small" issue and expected the centre-back to return for their clash against Wolves on December 8, but after suffering multiple setbacks, he has yet to make a return.
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Before picking up the injury, De Ligt had played every second of Premier League action for the Reds.
After months of mystery surrounding his absence, United confirmed on Friday morning that De Ligt has returned to the training pitch as he steps up his rehabilitation.
In an update on their official website, United wrote: "Manchester United defender Matthijs de Ligt is working hard on his rehabilitation, under the supervision of the club’s medical staff.
"The popular Netherlands international made an excellent start to the season and was deservedly voted our Player of the Month for November by supporters.
"Matthijs has unfortunately been sidelined since 30 November, but the 26-year-old remains upbeat and focused on returning to full fitness.
"As you can see in our exclusive images from Carrington, captured on Thursday afternoon, De Ligt is working on the grass doing some individual training. The centre-back is working individually and doing everything he can to return."
The statement added: "De Ligt is focused on returning to full fitness, as of yet Michael Carrick has not disclosed a timescale when he is due to return to action. Keep up the good work, Matta, we’re all behind you."
Of course, back injuries can be complex. Stephen Smith, who is the CEO and founder of Kitman Labs, gave an insight into the impact they can have on the body as De Ligt steps up his recovery.
"We don’t know what this one is, we don’t know if it is a muscular issue, a neural issue or an articular (joint) issue. Each would come with its own set of complications and timelines. They are all different," he told Metro.
"The weight of your entire body goes through your back, you can’t run around, you can’t twist and turn, you can’t bend down, you can’t kick if it’s a problem for you. So for a a high performing athlete, it is obviously a very important component.
"It sounds like it may have been a little bit more serious than was initially communicated. Or it has taken longer to work through, they thought it was something smaller and it has played out a little longer than expected."
He added: "We don’t know what the diagnosis is so it is hard to estimate what that means but we can hope he is over the worst of it."
Michael Carrick was asked about De Ligt's situation last month
Asked if there was a chance De Ligt would be out for the rest of the season, Carrick was coy about the defender's chances of making a return.
"Yeah, I can't give you any more on it, really. It's one of those things with backs that, sometimes, you think it's alright and then, all of a sudden, it's not quite right," he said in March.
"So, we're just kind of being patient and working through it, and we'll just have to see. We’ll obviously give him time and try to get him back as quickly as we can. But it's really difficult to say. I am not trying to hide anything.
"Literally, at the moment, we don't know, so we'll have to wait and see.”
He added: “It's like any injury. It’s trying to get the balance right. Some are a little bit more straightforward than others. Yeah, it's kind of it is what it is, really. Hopefully, listen, he's improving.
"It's not improving as quickly as we all hope, but we'll see how it goes.”
De Ligt's four-month absence has raised the possibility that he may require surgery.
“I don’t want to get into that at this stage," Carrick said regarding the prospect of surgery. "I think we’ll obviously try and do whatever we can to help Matta."
Topics: Man Utd, Matthijs De Ligt, Premier League
Jack Kenmare